Help! There’s suddenly so much to do in the garden and not enough hours in the day to do them all! The trick is just to get started on something somewhere – one job at a time, that’s the secret. Here are a few to consider: PLANTING OUT THE SWEETPEASIf you have germinated sweetpea seeds […]
Branklyn Garden is surely one of Scotland’s national treasures. Its eccentricities start before you’ve even got there. For although it’s in Perth – a wonderfully central and connected city, it’s quite a tricky little number to locate even for your top notch Sat Nav. (Basically head over the river as though you’re going to Scone […]
Hurray spring has finally sprung, and there are many reasons to be cheerful. But which spring plants cheered you up the most? Here’s our top 10: 1 Honesty (Lunaria annua– although it is actually a biennial) I have finally managed to spread this simple soul into various nooks and crannies around my garden whilst keeping the […]
Blue-Eyed Betty Thanks to a good friend (and 3growbags follower), who reminded me of the common name of this week’s special plant, I have been dipping into a couple of books by Margery Fish. Having read most of them years ago, I am again inspired by her chatty and informative prose and am finding them hard to put down. A […]
Ooh, things in the garden are really starting to put a wiggle on, aren’t they! The soil is starting to warm up properly, and the jobs can pile up quickly unless you keep on top of them. Here are some suggestions for the next couple of weeks: DIVIDE AND RULE It might seem a little late, […]
How can anyone not love a Magnolia? Their lavish flowers declare in their classy way that spring has really arrived in all its finery. People like Caroline might assume these celestial-looking beauties are all the same but it’s NOT TRUE and you must be careful to choose wisely. Most are deciduous (lose their leaves in […]
Every area of RHS Wisley garden in Surrey has ‘its moment’ some time in the year so it was with great intent that I set off last Sunday to take my annual tour around Battleston Hill, principally to look at magnolias. Unsurprisingly for this spring, it was wet, but en route to Battleston Hill there were […]
In our garden, Epimedium x warleyense is the first of the genus to flower and it never fails to delight. The sprays of unusual coppery orange coloured flowers, held high on thin wiry stems, seem almost to hover above ground. The effect is delicate, yet this clump forming plant is tough and a very efficient […]
Hurray! It’s April and the clocks have gone forward, giving us a realistic expectation of evenings light enough to get out into the garden after a day at work. It’s a busy month with lots to get stuck into, now that the soil is (at last!) warming up. Here are a few ideas…. DEALING WITH THE […]
So I took C and E to the Spring Plant Fair at RHS Wisley on Sunday, on the promise they’d behave themselves. Wisley is very much my stamping ground and I didn’t want any embarrassing incidents which might compromise my regular Sunday morning visits to this fantastic garden, (which I am now illustrating in a […]
This is undoubtedly a well known and popular cherry, and deservedly so; but somehow I overlooked it until a few years ago when, right time, right place, I found I had a gap for a spring flowering shrub and it fitted the bill perfectly. Compact, slow growing and twiggy in an architectural sort of way, […]
If you’re already a member of the Royal Horticultural Society you’ll know that besides its internationally renowned Chelsea Flower Show each May, a more permanent jewel in its crown is the RHS garden at Wisley, just off the M25 in balmy south-east England – and luckily a manageable drive from my house. I’ve been visiting […]
So, we have struggled through The Beast II: ‘Fright From the Right’ and are now hopefully on the sunny uplands of early spring when we can realistically be getting some proper work and planning done in the garden. It’s Elaine here with a few ideas for you: BEING BOLD WITH BUDDLEIA One of the loveliest […]
Outside the garden is still being battered by the return of ‘the beast’ but the days are lengthening and we can all indulge ourselves in a bit of remedial therapy by getting some new plants on the go. Seeds of many northern hemisphere plants are best sown in autumn so the winter rain and cold […]
This rhizomatous perennial (closely related to our own native cuckooflower) always takes me by surprise when its fresh bright foliage appears in February. The attractive leaves are five lobed and toothed, and they set off to perfection the mass of pinky purple flowers which can appear at any time during March. These are always a […]
It’s time to dandy up the dogwoods OK, you’ve enjoyed those lovely bright stems of Salix (Willow) and Cornus (Dogwood) cultivars all winter, cheering up the garden through the dull months, but if you want the same again next year, you must be very stern with them (being a schoolteacher, I’m quite good at that). Sharpen your secateurs and cut […]
Yikes, just when we thought we’d got away with it, the weather went all Winter Olympics on us. So how far were you prepared to go to protect those borderline shrubs which you were just congratulating yourself on having nursed through the worst of the winter? In my case it was quite far; I have […]
I am not a fan of the sort of mild winter that slips almost imperceptibly into spring, so I am happy with this one! February means hellebores at their best, but I’m not going to get bogged down with too many different sorts here, for there are many, including some very interesting species. I’m going […]
Good to see it’s keeping poor old septuagenarian Tim fit and healthy – a perfect example for the 70th birthday initiative of the NHS’s partnership with the RHS to create the Feel Good Garden initiative #RHSChelsea #NHS70
Spring is knocking at the door! These are some of the things that Growbag Elaine is up to currently in her garden: SPLITTING SNOWDROPS It’s time to ensure that your carpet of snowdrops is an even better carpet next year! Snowdrop bulbs can sometimes be a pain to get going if they are allowed to dry […]
It’s me first this week as I’m rather fed up with being last. Specifically I’m fed up of hearing how prematurely Elaine and Laura’s snowdrops; crocuses; tulips etc have bloomed in Sussex compared to mine which are still largely hunkered down in the Scottish tundra. But annoyingly, even my neighbours’ look more advanced. I’ve decided […]
I don’t really linger in the garden in February, but I do go round it every day whatever the weather, and love to notice all the subtle changes. The best time for this is in the early morning after a sharp frost: I never fail to be amazed by the transformations made by frost, and […]
Thank you everyone who gave us feedback on the future of our blog. It was so useful and encouraged us to have a go at a ‘How To’ column – some ideas on things to be done in the garden at the appropriate season. And here it is! Here are some jobs that Elaine will […]
When the weather closes in, and the days are still short, keen gardeners still need their fix and will turn their attention to virtual gardening, browsing catalogues and planning what seeds and young plants they need to order for the year ahead. Garden companies are well aware of the vulnerable state of the human psyche […]
Everyone is familiar with the ornamental quince. They are easy to grow, very hardy, can be left to grow freely or be trained tightly against a wall. They also come in many colours, some more familiar than others, and are tolerant of almost any soil type. What is not often pointed out is the ability […]
Straight off I need to state that my subject this week is not for gardeners who like to be in control, for it is a great self seeder, and is further helped on its way by blackbirds. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it invasive but thought I had better sound the alert! […]
I have been in quarantine for a couple of weeks now with an impressively wheezy chest and have had to experience Christmas and New Year vicariously through E and C’s slightly competitive WhatsApp messages ‘We had 53 people to lunch on Christmas Day and danced till 2 am’ (E); it’s so hot here on Cyprus […]
Many winter-flowering shrubs are unassuming, their blooms are usually quite subtle and many are fragrant; most often you catch the scent on the air before you notice the flowers. Daphne laureola, commonly known as the spurge laurel, is one of two native daphnes found in the UK and it is easy to grow and utterly […]
So here we are, we’ve reached Christmas again, and despite our very best efforts, our gardens are STILL not perfect…(for perfect, look at Louise’s Great Plant this Month at the end of the blog) so I think we should all turn joyfully to studying our gardens with a clear eye as to what ‘worked’ last […]
The name translates from the Greek as precocious (or early) winter flower, and it is without doubt the most striking plant in our garden this month. Striking, not only because it is so heavily laden with flower this year (and I am wondering how this happened after such a mediocre summer), but also because its […]
Now what could you as a bona fide paid-up member of Gardeners Anonymous possibly want for Christmas? You already have the greatest hobby in the world; five trillion small plastic pots, and a jacket-pocket full of handy bits of twine. And yet perhaps there ARE one of two items for your Christmas list, that could […]
Almost all echeveria will succumb to winter wet and cold in the UK, but not this one … not unless we have a particularly extreme season. It is easily the most able to cope with whatever weather is thrown at it. So I was very excited to come across this stunning succulent (bought from Bob […]
Growing up in an isolated rural setting we three young Growbags had to make our own entertainment. One of our innocent pastimes was making bird traps by propping up our father’s shrimping net with a stick, tied to a long piece of string, and baiting the trap with breadcrumbs. When an unsuspecting blue […]
I have a confession. The tree in the photo above is not actually in our garden. About 25 years ago, our neighbour, who grew it from seed, planted it on the verge in our lane, so I watch its progress through the seasons from the kitchen window. This tree gives us pleasure on so many […]
It all depends on the sun, the wind, the rain, and the frost … and on the order in which they come and go throughout the year. Therefore each autumn brings subtly different colour schemes and it is why some plants excel one year where before they were more muted. Today it’s the turn of […]